Creations Shop opening this summer

[Inspired Figment]

Perhaps that's true, but my point was that people like Zach have to deal with other employment options that exist today. He can't leave WDI and choose any job from history that he would have liked if he doesn't like the IP mandate, for example.

In terms of everything else you mentioned, I definitely agree that it's perfectly valid to criticize WDI's work and how the parks are being run. I do that myself plenty and am not thrilled with a lot of what they're doing with Epcot. It's just this nasty streak that comes up occasionally in Disney (and I'm sure most) fandom of picking hate figures and ridiculing them mercilessly that rubs me the wrong way. Particularly in this case when half the threads are people waxing lyrical about the intricacies of what constitutes good theming, and the other half is people mocking someone at WDI as ridiculous for his posts explaining colour and design choices for a new store as if they were important.

While I understand the point about “jobs in all of history”, there are certainly jobs out there today (and ones seemingly coming in at this time (perfect timing on that note) that are more in line with how Disney & WDI used to be & what they produced. Perhaps at times, not exactly, but pretty darn close.
And yeah, while I agree much of the criticism regarding Zach’s posts, particuarly here, can be fairly excessive and extremely harsh most of the time. Alot of the criticism regarding the consistency in theming is actually valid. But stuff like “Zach made a post showing what colors he used to paint this building. How laughably dumb and pointless”. Yeah… I’ll admit that’s, not the most constructive thing to criticize. Now, if people have a problem with the actual paint, choices, and the actual reasonings being made for those choices.. I get the criticism.. but in regards to the action of him just ‘posting’ that information isn’t neccesarily worth criticizing him for.

 

[Inspired Figment]

Perhaps that's true, but my point was that people like Zach have to deal with other employment options that exist today. He can't leave WDI and choose any job from history that he would have liked if he doesn't like the IP mandate, for example.

In terms of everything else you mentioned, I definitely agree that it's perfectly valid to criticise WDI's work and how the parks are being run. I do that myself plenty and am not thrilled with a lot of what they're doing with Epcot. There also seems to be problems particular to WDI in the execution of many new attractions that go beyond budgets granted by executives, which are generally eye wateringly huge.

It's just this nasty streak that comes up occasionally in Disney (and I'm sure most) fandom of picking hate figures and ridiculing them mercilessly that rubs me the wrong way. Particularly in this case when half the threads are people waxing lyrical about the intricacies of what constitutes good theming, and the other half is people mocking someone at WDI as ridiculous for his posts explaining colour and design choices for a new store as if they were important.

But yeah, ultimately, I get & completely agree what you’re saying about the direct vitriol being thrown at Zach being excessively harsh and not warranted. In this particular case, the criticism should be moreso directed at the choices/reasonings themselves & upper management’s limitations/control with both his posts and the projects.
I think more of the posters here need to be more introspective regarding that.

 

[Disstevefan1]

What a stupid name. What’s worse, I presume there were meetings about this, all sorts or research, studies etc. These are the times we wish Walt was around and he would have picked a good name and that would have been that..

 

[MisterPenguin]

What a stupid name. What’s worse, I presume there were meetings about this, all sorts or research, studies etc. These are the times we wish Walt was around and he would have picked a good name and that would have been that..

Yeah, it's not a good name unless they use the classic and timeless way Disney has always used to come up with names for stores, restaurants, and attractions: a pun!!!

 

[Prototype82]

Anyone know if that hideous playground on the side is going?

I vote we get ride of it and get the viking playground back.

 

[MrPromey]

It's just this nasty streak that comes up occasionally in Disney (and I'm sure most) fandom of picking hate figures and ridiculing them mercilessly that rubs me the wrong way. Particularly in this case when half the threads are people waxing lyrical about the intricacies of what constitutes good theming, and the other half is people mocking someone at WDI as ridiculous for his posts explaining colour and design choices for a new store as if they were important.

And here is where it all gets muddy because it seems that there are two different "people" here. First there is Zach Riddley who is apparently a man who apparently works for Disney Imaginieering. I'm sure this Zach Riddley has thoughts and ambitions and goals in life. I'm sure he has feelings, too.

Then there is thezachriddley - a puppet Instagram account that unfortunately for Zach Riddley is named after him and is using his likeness as a PR outlet.

Thezachriddley may have started out as the personal account of Zach Riddley but clearly, that is not the case, today. It's open to debate whether the actual Zach Riddley is even involved in the management of this account at this point. Does he write any of what goes along with these pictures?

Who's to say?

That would all sound very tin-foil-hat-ish if not for what we saw with the Mexican pavilion post and honestly, I'm relieved to know what I know now because that explains a lot.

With that, I'd say that a lot of people's angst and rage is directed more at the thezachriddley account and Disney PR rather than the actual guy Zach Riddley whether they know it or not since honestly, we don't know what his own unfiltered words even look like for sure.

It doesn't really justify any of the hate directed specifically at this figure but just the same, this seems like a problem Disney has themselves created.

Whether he had a willing and eager hand in giving up his personal voice and personal reputation to be managed by his employer or whether he was sort of backed into it is another story but just the same, it's not him. We (some of us, at least) understand it's not him and I at least feel a little better knowing it's not him when I see some of this.

But yeah, the people that don't know this and continue to essentially internet bully what they believe is an individual is absolutely wrong.

For me though, I just replace every "Zach" or "The Zach" in these threads with "Disney" (shorthand for Disney PR), especially now that the game has been confirmed by their own sloppy handling of the account that revealed the secret.

I mean really, how silly and kind of stupid, as an entertainment company - a company that makes their money off pretend super heroes and resorts and cruise ships to stoop to the kind of outlandish nonsense you see in national politics to try to bolster their brand?

Why not just do this on their blog or make an official Disney Imagineering account for it?

Is this really what it's come to? Is that what brand management for a successful multi-national corporation boils down to in this era?

Uncle Walt may have been a different persona from the actual private Walt Disney but there is little doubt that Walt Disney was in control of it.

Dose anyone doubt Joe Rhodes was in control of his own narrative - even if he was given guard rails to work within? I mean, I think that's probably half of what got him the job at Virgin Galactic.

This is not that.

 

[HauntedPirate]

That Instagram account is run as a PR outlet to show the rubes how "thoughtful", "creative", "brilliant", "genius", et al. WDI thinks they are. They use words like "iconic", "classic", etc., and try to tie things back to Walt in an attempt to fool long-time park fans into thinking management have the slightest semblance of clue as to what the hell they are doing in and around the theme parks. Zach is the public whipping boy, whether willingly or not, for those who visited and remember how the parks used to be, how Disney and WDI used to be, and have and/or can read the books by the masters who came before the current crop of Imagineers. John Hench talked about needing to use the right shade of white for The American Adventure building due to the Florida sun. But "Zach" wants to act like picking a shade of gray for the exterior of the remaining Communicore building is some massive accomplishment that took multiple Imagineers months to accomplish. Again - You're not breaking new ground here, you're doing what some legendary Imagineers did for decades before you were born. You're also pandering to an audience that may or may not be able to sniff out the BS. Those who can sniff it out are going to be vocal about it because they often have just as much passion, if not more, for the theme parks than those who allow their social media accounts to be leveraged by Disney's PR department. Yes, there are flashes of brilliance (RotR), but with too many stumbles along the way.

Being completely honest - I give little credit to "accomplishments" like recreating the entrance fountain. It was a mistake to remove in the first place, but it's not some grand accomplishment to recreate the beautiful fountain that was originally there. Destroying the symmetry of Future World? Carving FW up into these mythical "Worlds" that are pure nonsense? "Creations Shop"? HARModius?? Please. There's no connection between what they are putting into Epcot now and the original goal of EPCOT Center. No amount of verbiage coming from the PR department via "Zach's" Instagram account is going to change that. What was is no longer. I've accepted that. But it doesn't mean I have to accept, or even like, what they are doing to what's left of a once-great theme park.

I will not apologize for holding Disney to the standards they set for themselves. They used to lead. Now, they follow, and often at greater cost and expense. I will question social media posts made in an attempt to justify the pandering, the movie IP tie-ins, and questionable choices and spending choices made over the past 15+ years and continuing to this day. I can and will hold people like Iger and Chapek accountable for the decline of show quality and increase of movie IP tie-ins, especially places it is of questionable, at best, suitability. I don't even need to talk about price increases and giving less for more that seems to be the hallmark of the Iger and Chapek eras. "Zach" gets thrown to the wolves around here because he's allowed himself to be the public face to the decisions made above him.

 

[Prototype82]

"Flashes of brilliance?" Are we pretending like the entirety of Pandora never happened? I understand the sentiment though. How many times has PR beat us over the head with the word "immersed" with footage of an imagineer dabbing at something with an obviously dry paintbrush?

 

[Bocabear]

Pandora had flashes of brilliance....

 

[HauntedPirate]

"Flashes of brilliance?" Are we pretending like the entirety of Pandora never happened? I understand the sentiment though. How many times has PR beat us over the head with the word "immersed" with footage of an imagineer dabbing at something with an obviously dry paintbrush?

It was just the most recent example. Could have added Pandora and summed up all of the flashes since 2006.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

John Hench talked about needing to use the right shade of white for The American Adventure building due to the Florida sun. But "Zach" wants to act like picking a shade of gray for the exterior of the remaining Communicore building is some massive accomplishment that took multiple Imagineers months to accomplish. Again - You're not breaking new ground here, you're doing what some legendary Imagineers did for decades before you were born.

This, I think, is at the crux of what I don't get about the hostility to a lot of the recent Zach Ridley posts. As fans who have read all the books and watched all the programs, we are very used to hearing explanations for why they chose different colors or fittings for certain facilities. When I read Zach's posts, I don't see claims that what they're doing with Creations or Club Cool is a mind-blowing new level of Imagineering. It seems more like the kinds of explanations WDI has always publicised regarding how they have chosen colors, materials, or designs and some of the technology they have used to execute them. Sure, that is overlaid with the usual Disney hyperbole that has been there for all of my lifetime and, of course, the actual projects themselves are very open to be criticized. He isn't making particularly grand claims, though.

At times I think people would only be happy with a post from WDI saying that the Imagineers just choose everything at random, hate Walt Disney, and are only pretending to be like the Imagineers from the past to mock the fans.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Links, screenshots and/or summary to this Mexico Pavilion post?

 

[trainplane3]

Links, screenshots and/or summary to this Mexico Pavilion post?

And the original with notes:

 

[cookiee_munster]

sorry for the offtopic post, but why can't i see the post above? it's just a white box for me... it's the same on other peoples posts.

 

[MisterPenguin]

sorry for the offtopic post, but why can't i see the post above? it's just a white box for me... it's the same on other peoples posts.

Any ad blockers running?

Try looking at it with a browser that doesn't have any add-ons, like Edge (which I mention because, who uses Edge?).

 

[Inspired Figment]

And here is where it all gets muddy because it seems that there are two different "people" here. First there is Zach Riddley who is apparently a man who apparently works for Disney Imaginieering. I'm sure this Zach Riddley has thoughts and feelings and ambitions and goals in life. I'm sure he has feelings, too.

Then there is thezachriddley - a puppet Instagram account that unfortunately for Zach Riddley is named after him and is using his likeness as a PR outlet.

Thezachriddley may have started out as the personal account of Zach Riddley but clearly, that is not the case, today. It's open to debate whether the actual Zach Riddley is even involved in the management of this account at this point. Does he write any of what goes along with these pictures?

Who's to say?

That would all sound very tin-foil-hat-ish if not for what we saw with the Mexican pavilion post and honestly, I'm relieved to know what I know now because that explains a lot.

With that, I'd say that a lot of people's angst and rage is directed more at the thezachriddley account and Disney PR rather than the actual guy Zach Riddley whether they know it or not since honestly, we don't know what his own unfiltered words even look like for sure.

It doesn't really justify any of the hate directed specifically at this figure but just the same, this seems like a problem Disney has themselves created.

Whether he had a willing and eager hand in giving up his personal voice and personal reputation to be managed by his employer or whether he was sort of backed into it is another story but just the same, it's not him. We (some of us, at least) understand it's not him and I at least feel a little better knowing it's not him when I see some of this.

But yeah, the people that don't know this and continue to essentially internet bully what they believe is an individual is absolutely wrong.

For me though, I just replace every "Zach" or "The Zach" in these threads with "Disney" (shorthand for Disney PR), especially now that the game has been confirmed by their own sloppy handling of the account and the screenshots to prove it.

I mean really, how silly and kind of stupid, as an entertainment company - a company that makes their money off pretend super heroes and resorts and cruise ships to resort to the kind of outlandish nonsense you see in national politics to try to bolster their brand?

Why not just do this on their blog or make an official Disney Imagineering account for it?

Is this really what it's come to? Is that what brand management for a successful multi-national corporation boils down to in this era?

Uncle Walt may have been a different persona from the actual private Walt Disney but there is little doubt that Walt Disney was in control of it.

Dose anyone doubt Joe Rhodes was in control of his own narrative - even if he was given guard rails to work within? I mean, I think that's probably half of what got him the job at Virgin Galactic.

This is not that.

Agreed entirely. They actually ‘do’ have an official Walt Disney Imagineering account and they tend to retweet Zach’s posts.. which makes it all the more nonsensical & confusing to me why they feel the need to control or use Zach Riddley’s account as a straight PR account rather than let them be their authentic selves like Joe Rohde for instance. Leave all the PR fluff to the official WDI page, not the imagineers themselves.

 

[TikibirdLand]

Agreed entirely. They actually ‘do’ have an official Walt Disney Imagineering account and they tend to retweet Zach’s posts.. which makes it all the more nonsensical & confusing to me why they feel the need to control or use Zach Riddley’s account as a straight PR account rather than let them be their authentic selves like Joe Rohde for instance. Leave all the PR fluff to the official WDI page, not the imagineers themselves.

I do agree that this sounds like a puppet account. The only time I see their posts is here when someone links to it. Maybe their PR team does this to provide the look of more individuality. But, could you see Joe Rohde, Tony Baxtor, Rolly Crump or Bob Gurr's voice in any of these posts? If they had Instagram accounts, I think they'd be posting more interesting stuff than paint colors or flooring materials in a gift shop. That's PR stuff, not Imagineering. If some of the posts focused on the technology that went into Space 220's windows and how the "space elevator" is going to work; that would be an interesting post (or series). As an Imagineer, Zach has access to the vast warehouse of knowledge that exists in the archives. Think of all the things he could write about! Man, I'd love that job!

 

[trainplane3]

sorry for the offtopic post, but why can't i see the post above? it's just a white box for me... it's the same on other peoples posts.

Viewing it at work? It's all social media imbeds.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Agreed entirely. They actually ‘do’ have an official Walt Disney Imagineering account and they tend to retweet Zach’s posts.. which makes it all the more nonsensical & confusing to me why they feel the need to control or use Zach Riddley’s account as a straight PR account rather than let them be their authentic selves like Joe Rohde for instance. Leave all the PR fluff to the official WDI page, not the imagineers themselves.

It's possible that Joe's few posts directly about his Disney work needed approval as well. The same would be true of any speaking engagements he did while working. He was just a lot better about making sure it stayed in his voice and sounded natural.

 

[DCBaker]

Use the > to toggle through the pictures -